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MHD Chapter 84: This One’s Not in the Manual, Meow!
🕑 Added 2025-08-06 04:50:44 +0000 UTCJust as Logan was marveling at how quickly the cats were growing, an unfamiliar scent of blood drifted in with the wind. Looking up, he saw
Just as Logan was marveling at how quickly the cats were growing, an unfamiliar scent of blood drifted in with the wind.
Looking up, he saw Aki flying back, clutching the corpse of a monster. She dropped it to the ground, gave Logan a gentle call, then turned and walked toward the reservoir to wash her claws.
Logan stepped forward and curiously poked at the body a few times, only to recognize—it was a Seregios corpse!
And just like that Astalos from before, it was immediately clear to Logan that this Seregios was also not a native of the New World.
First came the Astalos, and now a Seregios.
Logan instinctively felt that something was off.
And for good reason—this time, the Elder Dragon Crossing of the Teostra was far too calm!
Of course, it wasn't as though every Elder Dragon Crossing had to result in catastrophe… but complete silence? That was a problem in itself.
Wherever calamity passes, disaster follows.
Could it be that this Teostra's Elder Dragon Crossing wasn’t triggering issues within the New World, but instead setting off a massive migration of certain Old World species?
Logan pondered. It was unlikely—but not impossible.
After Aki finished cleaning up, she returned to Logan’s side and gently nudged him with her snout. Once she saw him snap out of his thoughts, she gave a soft call and then left the nest again.
She had only come back to deliver the Seregios corpse—her hunt was not yet over.
Watching her figure disappear into the distance, Logan called the cats over to dismantle the Seregios body.
But as he observed them gathering around the corpse, he noticed that one of the cats was sitting on the ground, flipping anxiously through an illustrated handbook, yet not making a move.
Curious, Logan asked.
“Meow! Boss, we don’t know how to handle this big guy’s body, meow!”
“Hm?” Logan was a little puzzled. They didn’t know how to handle it?
At that moment, the cat sitting on the ground stood up with a gloomy expression, holding up the little handbook in its paws, and complained: “There’s no info on this guy in the Monster Encyclopedia the hunter gave us, meow!”
Ah, that was it. Logan finally remembered—at this time period, because sightings of Seregios were so rare, while there were still some records preserved in the Hunter’s Guild, the creature was still largely unknown to most people.
So it was perfectly normal that this guy wouldn’t be listed in the general-purpose Hunter’s Notes.
And if even the Seregios wasn’t listed, then the New World-exclusive monsters wouldn’t appear in the Research Commission’s materials either!
Which meant…
Logan’s mind wandered for a moment before he shook his head and dismissed such merchant-like thoughts.
He instructed the cats to dismantle the body using the standard method for carving Flying Wyverns, and to preserve as much of the Seregios materials as possible—even if some parts were damaged, it didn’t matter.
Later, they could send it off to the Research Commission as a rare specimen. Who knows, maybe one day the Hunter’s Guild would end up adding an entry like:
[Origin of Seregios: New World. Old World sightings likely resulted from early migration.]
Whether such a record was true or not didn’t matter at all—after all, the Scrivener Squad’s favorite pastime was “devouring books,” gleefully tearing apart previous speculations.
That’s also why so many records from the Scrivener Squad are filled with words like “suspected,” “possibly,” and “presumed”—so that when they're inevitably proven wrong, there’s still some wiggle room left for damage control.
The cats used vine ropes to drag the Seregios corpse to the corner of the nest, then began dissecting it with sharp carving knives. Uncomfortable with the thick stench of blood in the air, Logan left the nest and soared above the Ancient Tree to patrol his territory.
...
Out of Logan’s sight, those flying monsters who, like the Seregios, had migrated first, began to disperse and scatter across the outer edges of the forest. There, they clashed with the local monsters in battle after battle.
In terms of combat experience, the monsters of the Ancient Forest in the New World were slightly inferior to these migrants from the Old World.
After all, the Ancient Forest was rich in resources, and most of the time, monsters didn’t need to fight to the death to secure the materials they needed to survive.
However, when it came to raw physical attributes, the monsters of the New World were generally one or two levels stronger than their Old World counterparts, thanks to the concentrated life energy and nutrient-rich environment of the region.
As a result, the battles between them were evenly matched—each side gaining and losing ground. Unless a creature emerged whose strength vastly exceeded others in the same ecological niche, these migrant monsters were nothing more than a single drop of water in the New World's ecosystem—not even enough to make a splash.
Because these incidents were, for the time being, confined to the forest outskirts and the Wildspire Waste, they had not yet reached deep into the Ancient Tree region. So while Logan remained unaware of any changes, the Research Commission was the first to notice something was wrong.
Near the coast, at the Astera outpost, in a newly refurbished command and meeting hall, a gathering was held—led by the Admiral and joined by the key members of both the First and Second Fleets.
“According to findings from field researchers over the past few days,” Carlos began, “there have been repeated territorial clashes between large monsters in the outer forest. In most cases, the ones initiating the turf wars have been Flying Wyverns. This is the report from the investigative teams.”
Carlos handed out copies of the report. The attendees each took one, quickly scanning through the contents to get a general understanding of the situation.
Once everyone had finished reading, Carlos finally spoke: “Based on the collected samples, the scholars believe that this wave of disruptions is most likely caused by what we had previously speculated—a migration of species from the Old World.”
“But isn’t species migration a natural part of ecological behavior? We shouldn’t need to intervene too much, right?” The Field Master put away the report and looked at Carlos, puzzled.
Something as routine as this shouldn’t warrant a special meeting. Did the Admiral and Carlos have something else in mind?
Carlos nodded in agreement with the Field Master’s point, but quickly followed up with an explanation: “Here’s the situation. Most of the Grimalkynes from the Fire Wyvern clan of the Ancient Tree—who’ve come to our outpost for trade and training—have now completed the basic Palico training. Combined with our current stockpiles and available personnel, we are sufficiently prepared.”
“Therefore, I plan to launch the ‘Ancient Forest Research Expansion Project.’ We’ll deepen our cooperation with the Fire Wyvern clan, push further into the Ancient Forest, and establish a supply transport route between our two sides. Along this route, we’ll build corresponding Hunter camps and, using this supply line as a core, gradually expand our investigations throughout the entire Ancient Forest.”
“And the monsters mentioned in these investigation reports are precisely the obstacles along that route. That’s why we’ll need to mobilize all Hunters and coordinate with the Fire Wyvern clan to drive out the dangerous monsters blocking the path.”
If something this significant was happening, then the reason for holding this meeting was fully justified.
After years of silence, with the arrival of the Second Fleet, the logistical pressure on the Hunters had eased dramatically. The defensive infrastructure at the Astera Base was finally being improved, and they no longer needed large numbers of personnel to work night-and-day shifts guarding it.
Thanks to the assistance of the Fire Wyvern clan from the Ancient Tree, the shortfall in essential supplies and monster materials had also been resolved.
It could be said that the Research Commission was currently enjoying the most manpower it had seen in years—this truly was the right time to push further.
“Still, I do have a question,” the Field Master interjected. “After we open this route, will we have enough resources to maintain it long term? This path isn’t short. The monsters deep in the forest are much more powerful than those near the edges. Just getting there is already a big issue, let alone maintaining a camp.”
Clearing the route and driving away monsters wasn’t the hardest part of the plan. What came after—ongoing support and logistics—was the real challenge.
Of course, she wasn’t opposing the plan outright. She just felt it might be a bit too aggressive. Wouldn’t it be wiser to proceed step by step and secure each part of the forest gradually?
Hearing this, Carlos chuckled. He exchanged glances with both the Second Fleet Master and the head of the Research Team—a young Wyverian scholar.
“This is a launcher I designed myself. After recent refinements, any trained operator can use it to replace rope travel and move over long distances with the help of tamed wingdrakes.”
As he spoke, the Second Fleet Master demonstrated for the group.
He whistled toward a wingdrake resting on a nearby perch. When the creature soared overhead, he raised the launcher mounted on his arm and fired a grappling hook that latched precisely onto a ring attached to the wingdrake’s leg. He took off smoothly.
Then, pulling a triangular foot brace with a rope from his waist, he hooked it to the launcher, planted his feet firmly, and glided a good distance through the air before landing safely.
“As you can see, with this launcher, Hunters now have a flexible method of long-distance movement. The Hunter camps we set up along the way will all be equipped with wingdrake perches and wingdrakes,” Carlos explained.
Right on cue, the Wyverian scholar picked up the thread, handing out prepared documents to the others. “And this here is the ‘Advanced Taming Program for Cooperative Integration with the Ancient Tree Fire Wyvern Clan’. Please review it carefully. If you have any concerns, now’s the time to raise them.”
